Story: Father’s Day with dogs and cats

The weather was so gorgeous on Father’s Day this year–sunny, slight breeze, temps in the high 70s–that we spent the entire time outside.

The dogs were part of the celebrating, which, for them, included hanging out with the humans, watching out for stray food bits and protecting the yard from squirrels, deer and foxes. (Even though we have a fence, you never know…)

The cats stayed indoors enjoying the peace and quiet–until dinner time, at which point they complained loudly to any human who went in the house that their meals were late and the situation needed to be attended to immediately.

Such a card
A few years ago, I stopped buying cards–birthday cards, wedding cards, Valentine’s Day cards or Father’s Day cards. Instead, I find an appropriate photo among my thousands and make my own.

This is the card I gave my husband.

Athena follows Brian around the kitchen meowing and mewling like a bereft kitten, until he picks her up and cuddles her. The funny thing is, it’s always the kitchen. Always when he’s busy. Never anywhere else.

Cats. I’ll never understand them. But that’s half the fun.

Here’s the card I made for my dad.

He says Tucker reminds him of his first dog, an Airedale named Ruby.

My dad as a young child with his first dog, Ruby

Father’s Day with dogs and cats
We hung out and just visited for awhile, relaxing in the shade of the umbrellas on our deck, telling stories and catching up.

Lilah keeps my dad company.

It was Dad’s Choice for dinner, so we had take-out from our favorite local Chinese restaurant.

My son wasn’t in the mood for Chinese, so he cooked himself a couple of burgers. While he was grilling, I thought it was a good time to bring the dogs inside for their meal.  The noses get a little too interested when the beef comes out, and we’ve had a few incidents in the past with some sneaky steak-stealing pups.

While I got everyone’s food ready, the cats told me in no uncertain terms how displeased they were with the service in this establishment.

By the time the dogs finished and were ready to go back outside, the human food had arrived. And, even though we have a “no people food” policy in our house (except for healthy treats when appropriate), the dogs know that visitors bring opportunities. Especially Grandma and Grandpa.

Jasper thinks strategically. First he visits my mom, because she has a kind heart, and he’s sure she’ll offer him something from the table–something that we never do. But sometimes, when Mom isn’t looking, Grandma sneaks him a snack. So it’s always good to check in with Grandma.

Jasper hopes Grandma will feed him a table tidbit.

When that doesn’t work, he tries my dad. While Grandpa won’t feed Jasper from the table, he’s not the neatest of eaters, and sometimes a stray bit falls like manna from heaven.

Grandpa says no table food.

In the meantime, Lilah has a different strategy. Positioned by Grandpa’s feet under the table, she’s close enough to get any scraps that fall her way from either grandparent.

You never know when something tasty might drop your way.

Before they left, the kids and I posed with my parents. A few of the pictures came out pretty good.

And then there’s the one that caught a little bit of almost-mischief taking place in the background.

While the humans are distracted, Lilah seizes the opportunity to check out the grill, hoping for a meaty treat.

In case it’s hard to see, here’s a close up.

A close up of the not-quite-crime.

Lilah would really love a burger.

All in all a happy Father’s Day. I hope all the fathers out there–of humans and other species–had a wonderful day.

You might also like:

• Thanksgiving 2013 with 3 dogs, 5 cats and 13 humans
• Photo: Two boys and a dog
• Haiku by Dog: Place
• Text from Dog: They’re gone

Today we’re participating in the Monday Mischief blog hop. Check out some of the other great blogs below.

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Eulogy for my father, Dr. Norman P. Willett Dogs Playing Pool Story: Braving the weather–or at least the umbrella Story: Dogs vs. Groundhog